MLA Documentation. The What, Why, and How of Documentation in Academic Work. Saturday, March 08,

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1 MLA Documentation The What, Why, and How of Documentation in Academic Work By Darren Chiang-Schultheiss Fullerton College English Department

2 Who and What is the MLA Modern Language Association Professional organization The Modern Language Association is an association of scholars and educators established in For over a hundred years, its goal has been to foster and maintain an accepted standard of scholarship in languages and literature

3 What Does the MLA Do? Annual Meetings Conferences Professional Textbooks The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7 th ed. (2009) Sets Documentation Methods and Standards Academic Disciplines

4 MLA Documentation Vs. MLA Format What is the difference between MLA documentation and MLA format? The documentation system prescribes or tells us how to give credit to authors of outside sources. The documentation format prescribes how the manuscript should look (heading margins, spacing, pagination, and titles)

5 5 Common Documentatin Systems MLA = Modern Language Association humanities APA = American Psychological Association social and natural sciences CMS = Chicago Manual Style humanities and social sciences CBE = Council of Biological Editors hard sciences CEC = Civil Engineering Citation Guide hard sciences

6 Why Document Sources? Support for our claims To criticize or evaluate Authoritative evidence Lends credibility to our ideas (ethos) Professionalism Avoid plagiarism

7 Documentation Standards Why are documentation standards important? Uniformity Consistency and predictability Allows readers to understand the work of others No standards in documentation creates chaos

8 The 3-Part MLA Documentation System 1. Citation 2. In-text parenthetical notation 3. Works Cited Page

9 The 3-Part MLA Documentation System Citations reference to any outside source (all borrowed ideas must be credited) Direct quotation using the author s exact language (verbatim); these ideas are visually designated by using quotation marks Jon Krakauer is a good reporter because we come as close as we probably ever can to another person s heart and soul (Rodriguez 12). Paraphrase someone s ideas expressed in your own language, grammar; goal: simplify or translate complex ideas to suit audience needs Jon Krakauer s style of reporting captures the essence of the person he is researching better than that of most journalists (Rodriguez 12). Summary someone s ideas expressed in your own language, grammar; goal: condense a text into just its main ideas or points

10 The 3-Part MLA Documentation System The in-text parenthetical notation (aka: parenthetical note); (aka: p-note) This element contains a brief description of the author and page where the citation source can be found. Examples: (Faulkner 92) standard print source (Chan, par. 12) or (Woodward, scr. 3) non-print source ( Reclaiming Green America 8) no author or author mentioned in essay text (Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 117) (Twain, Pudd nhead Wilson 56) author w/ multiple entries on Works Cited page (qtd. in Franklin 88) indirect or nested citation

11 The 3-Part MLA Documentation System The Works Cited Page Format: 1 margins centered title double spacing hanging paragraphs Rules for Assembling Sources: Arrange alphabetically by author s last name Give full bibliographic information No numbering or categorization of sources

12 The 3-Part MLA Documentation System The Works Cited Page Works are arranged alphabetically by author s last name Give full bibliographic information For books, copy bibliographic information from the title and copyright pages For periodicals copy relevant information and volume, issue, and date

13 Exercises Sample books Sample periodicals